“Now you got him, what you going to do with him?” Spider asked, as the pup bounded along beside them, fairly shaking with delight, as his tail switched back and forth.
“Dunno. Get him some grub first, I guess. He looks awful thin.”
Bennie went around to the hotel kitchen and begged some meat scraps, which the pup devoured greedily. After that, he tried to follow Bennie into the hotel. No dogs were allowed inside, however.
“I guess he’ll go away now,” Bennie said, shutting the door in the poor dog’s face.
But when they came out from dinner the dog was still lying in front of the door, and as Bennie went out to the sidewalk he leaped upon him, trying to lick his face. He settled down on the door-mat when the boys went in for the night, and the last thing they saw was his face looking in at them through the screen, his eyes reproachful and sad at being left out.
And when they came down at six in the morning, he was still there! At sight of Bennie, he emitted a glad yelp and began scratching at the door.
“Say, that pup is certainly fond of me,” Bennie said, going out and petting it. “Can’t I take him along, Uncle Billy?”
“Not a chance,” the doctor answered. “We’ve got troubles enough. Besides, he probably belongs to somebody here in Bend. He’ll go home when we’ve gone.”
When they were putting the last of the baggage into the cars in front of the hotel the dog leaped into the doctor’s car and sat on the driver’s seat, wagging his tail furiously, as much as to say, “Well, well, I’m all ready to start; hurry up!”
He had to be put out three times before the cars were ready. When the order came to start, Bennie hugged him hard, while the pup licked at his face.